nice to chat with you. >> senator, let's talk about the fiscal cliff. increasingly we are referring to it as the fiscal curve, possibly among some folks in our circle, the fiscal mole hill. you have advocated going over the fiscal cliff as a way for both democrats and republicans to make a deal and i will call to mind -- i will call to everyone's attention comments you made at the brookings institution this summer when you said if the bush tax cuts expire every proposal will be a tax cut proposal and the norquist pledge will no longer keep republicans boxed in and unable to compromise. which would seem to be good news for republicans. what do you make of john boehner's statement saying bad idea? >> well, first of all, i respect representative cole for saying the obvious, that there is no need to hold 98% of our middle-class families and 97% of our small businesses hostage just in order to protect the wealthiest americans. that this fiscal cliff that we are facing can be resolved very quickly if we pass a bill to extend the tax cuts for those people. i r